Concealed clothing

I was listening to an old edition of Home Truths when I heard this story about a furniture restorer who discovered a chaise longue stuffed with 19th-century clothing. She suggests that they were packed in there as a kind of memorial to their owner. Southampton University’s Deliberately Concealed Garment project investigates instances of clothes hidden in buildings. Garments were hidden as lucky charms for the protection of the house and its inhabitants. Other objects concealed in buildings include dried cats, coins and bottles. I think this is something I’d better warn my father about before he builds that extension!